Monday, May 15, 2006

Where's Equal Justice Under The Law?

A 13-year-old girl convicted of attempting to kill two classmates by slipping rat poison into their milk was sentenced to up to 12 years in a juvenile detention center.

Holley Sweeney was ordered Friday to remain at the Hillcrest Girls' School in Salem until she is 25 with early release possible if she responds to treatment, the judge ruled.

Earlier this month, the judge found the Lakeview girl and her friend, Stephanie Quesnoy, 12, guilty of plotting and executing a plan to kill two classmates they disliked. Quesnoy is to be sentenced May 22.

The girls put d-Con rat poison in the milk of two classmates Sept. 19 during lunch at Daly Middle School. The victims noticed green crystalline pellets in the bottom of their milk cartons and neither was injured.

District Attorney David Schutt said the girls planned the poisoning to retaliate against the victims for putting shaving cream in Quesnoy and Sweeney's hair at a slumber party.

Both girls testified that they wanted their victims dead.

Schutt said a psychiatrist, who did not testify, determined Sweeney had trouble distinguishing right from wrong.

Both girls are going to end up spending significant time behind bars. They done the crime, now they can do the time. Hopefully, they'll get the help that they need so that they can re-enter society as productive citizens.

We're fine with that.

What we're not fine with is that while 13-year-old children are getting punished for attempting to harm their classmates, adults monsters such as Debra Lefave are getting away with sexually molesting children.

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